Prescott IOS vs The Stubblebine Company: Choosing an IOS real estate broker in Greater Boston
Overview of The Stubblebine Company
The Stubblebine Company is a generalist industrial real estate brokerage that has been inexistence for more than three decades and has transacted thousands of times across asset classes and price ranges. They are an industrial generalist, covering all industrial asset classes: flex, R&D, distribution, warehouse, manufacturing, and some IOS (Industrial Outdoor Storage). They are owned and operated by the Stubblebine family and are known for their strong work ethic and persistent follow up. Based in Lexington and affiliated with CORFAC International, they are focused in Greater Boston, including the Route 2, 3, and 93 corridors, Providence, RI, Southern New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts, and even some areas of Urban Boston.
They have a track record of listing industrial properties for sale and lease between 20,000 square feet and 150,000 square feet. Stubblebine will also list investment properties of various sizes, particularly between the $2,000,000 and $10,000,000 range, and they occasionally handle larger investment sales as well. Their standing in the market is well documented: they have been ranked among the top 30 commercial real estate selling brokers in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal.
Where Prescott IOS and The Stubblebine Company Overlap
Both Prescott IOS and The Stubblebine Company will list IOS and IOS adjacent properties. Due to Stubblebine's history as industrial generalists, they have leased and sold a number of IOS properties. These transactions have typically come as a by-product of existing industrial relationships rather than an IOS process or ecosystem, or explicit focus on IOS properties as a whole.
When The Stubblebine Company Is the Better Choice
Stubblebine is the right choice for industrial listings that do not have an Industrial Outdoor Storage (IOS) component. They have a strong network of manufacturing, R&D, flex, and distribution relationships along with a database of thousands of companies in these fields.
General Industrial Landlord Representation
If you have a property that you need sold or leased and it does not have an IOS aspect to the property, Stubblebine is the right choice because of their network and their network effect. They have many industrial listings between 20,000 and 150,000 SF, and therefore they will see the tenant flow in the marketplace more thanPrescott IOS will for those types of listings and tenants.
Vacant, User-Focused Industrial Seller Representation
Stubblebine will be better able to run a sales process for properties as vacant saleswithout an oversized yard or parking area. They have a larger staff of younger brokers who can facilitate more regular and responsive showings than Prescott IOS would be able to do.
Large Warehouse Tenant Representation
Stubblebine will be a better fit than Prescott IOS for large warehousing industrialsearches that, again, do not have an IOS component. For companies that need to find warehouses over 100,000 square feet, Stubblebine will be more aware ofthese ideal properties and will be able to find them faster because of theirgeneralist industrial focus.
When Prescott IOS Is the Better Choice
IOS Landlord Representation
Prescott IOS will be a better fit than Stubblebine when listing property for a few reasons. First, in the same way that Stubblebine has a network effect for general industrial properties, Prescott IOS has the network effect for IOS tenants. This means that Prescott IOS will be aware of tenant interest across many markets because of the marketplace intelligence gathered over a long time.
IOS Seller Representation
Prescott IOS will be a better fit than Stubblebine when selling a property with Industrial Outdoor Storage, because Prescott IOS tracks the top IOS investor groups around the country and which ones are most active particularly in New England. On a sale, that means we run the full ranked list, often the top 50 IOS buyers active in New England, rather than the three to five familiar names that a generalist sales process tends to default to.
IOS Tenant Representation
Prescott IOS focuses on IOS Tenant Representation and would be a better choice for this kind of assignment because most IOS tenants need properties that are found off-market. Prescott IOS has built a team, a dataset, and a repeatable processdedicated to finding off-market IOS properties, developed through our exclusivefocus on IOS properties in New England.
There is a structural reason a generalist practice is set up differently. A firm whose time is mostly spent marketing general industrial listings is optimized for adifferent task than sourcing off-market or tough-to-find properties fortenants. The processes for listing marketing and tenant searching are very different. A general industrial listing will not produce IOS tenants, just like an IOS tenant search will not help you find warehouses to list, which is Stubblebine's main area of expertise.
What We See When We Compete Against Them
We have won landlord representation and tenant representation assignments that were IOS focused when competing with Stubblebine. We have also found that being a younger, hungry company, one that has to earn every result in order to make it, has worked in Prescott IOS's favor on those assignments.
The other side of it is just as true. We do not compete well with Stubblebine when the assignment is a large industrial, non-IOS listing over 100,000 square feet, due to Stubblebine's depth of experience in that asset class and their long list of transactions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Stubblebine Company handle IOS (Industrial Outdoor Storage) deals?
Yes. As industrial generalists, Stubblebine has leased and sold a number of IOS properties. Those deals have typically come as a by-product of their existing industrial relationships rather than from a dedicated IOS focus.
Should I hire aspecialist or a generalist for my IOS property?
If the property's value is driven by its yard, laydown, or outdoor storage, aspecialist who tracks IOS buyers and tenants specifically will usually run amore competitive process. If the property is a conventional industrial building with no meaningful storage component, a strong generalist is an excellent fit.
Who is the bestIOS broker in New England?
Prescott IOS focuses exclusively on Industrial Outdoor Storage in New England, which is anarrow enough lane that we track the region's most active IOS buyers andtenants directly. For general industrial, flex, and office assignments, established generalists like The Stubblebine Company are highly capable.
Prescott IOS or The Stubblebine Company, which should I choose?
Choose Prescott IOS when your assignment is IOS landlord, seller, or tenant representation. Choose The Stubblebine Company when your assignment is general industrial, avacant user sale, or a large warehouse search with no IOS component.
Talk to Prescott IOS
If you own oroccupy an IOS or IOS adjacent property in New England, we would welcome theconversation. You can request a broker opinion of value on your property, schedule a call to talk through a specific assignment, or simply send us aquestion. Whatever the level of commitment, there is a way to start.